A roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers September 11.
Al Qaeda defeats Bush
The London-based Al Quds Al Arabi's chief editor, Abdel Bari Atwan, accused President George W. Bush of lying to his people and the world for continuously claiming that his administration is winning the war on terror.
He added that Bush has refrained from admitting that his country was in fact losing wars and the world is less safe since the launching of the war on terror and on Iraq.
Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is still alive and his organization is today more dangerous than ever, he argued.
The editor of the independent Palestinian-owned daily opined that Al Qaeda has won the war, because "it planned and succeeded in pulling the United States into wars outside its territories, which it is not qualified to do ... and it will be defeated if it remained or withdrew, because the material, human, and political losses will be very high."
Atwan wrote that Bin Laden personally told him during an interview in November 1996 that he cannot defeat America inside the United States, but that "he will achieve more strategic achievements if he succeeds in pulling them into wars in the Muslim world, where he would face them on his territories amid his public.
"It appears that the September 11 events were the bait that Al Qaeda's chief used to achieve this enormous strategic objective."
A battle of ideologies
A commentary in the London-based Asharq Al Awsat said that the world governments failed to understand the real causes that brought about Al Qaeda, terrorism, and September 11.
The commentary in the Saudi-owned daily said that the West sees the problem as stemming from an absence of free expression and democracy, while Arab governments blame it on injustice in the region, mainly the Palestinian issue.
"Thus, all of them are running away from their direct responsibilities by blaming the political atmosphere, which is true to some extent, but is not the essence of the problem," it said.
The paper insisted that there is a "serious and infectious disease in the region that cannot be confined to lack of democracy or the Palestinian cause, for Bin Laden considers voting blasphemous and he did not include the Palestinian issue in his approach except in recent years. And history shows he did not arrange a single battle against an Israeli target for 10 years."
It argued that Al Qaeda's ideology is stronger than any other time because although security services chased and destroyed its cells, little has been done to block its ideas and civil institutions.
It warned that if nothing is done to eliminate the spread of extremist thoughts, terrorism and violence will continue to rise in the region.
'Civilized' dialogue needed
Another Saudi newspaper, Okaz, said in its editorial that the September 11 attacks not only led to the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York, but also the collapse of relations between the East and West.
The semi-official daily said that the number of people killed in Muslim countries has far exceeded those killed in New York, and the number of American soldiers killed in American wars has exceeded the New York casualties.
It added that the aftermath of the September 11 attacks "mixed the cards between East and West that harmed both sides, with the distortion of the image of Arabs and Muslims through American wars on Muslim countries."
It insisted that overcoming the crisis five years after September 11 requires dialogue among the peoples of both sides, a "civilized dialogue based on mutual respect and interests, to avoid another September 11 disaster."
US must reconsider policies
Egypt's Al Ahram daily commented that while the American war on terror succeeded in preventing new attacks on US territories, it nevertheless increased anger and hatred of many people over US policies.
"The failure of this war appears in Iraq and Afghanistan, where an American crisis and daily violence prevails," the semi-official paper said.
It added that perhaps the fifth anniversary of September 11 is an important opportunity for the US administration, especially its neoconservatives, to reconsider its policies in dealing with terrorism.
The mass-circulation daily said that this was a good opportunity for the administration to change its military and preemptive war policies, "which led to turbulence in the world, marginalization of the UN, and violations of international law."
It is important for Washington to understand that confronting terror calls for a comprehensive framework to deal with its causes, most prominently resolving international conflicts, mainly the Palestinian issue, it suggested.
It called on the United States to abandon "double standards, eliminate poverty in the world, and achieve co-existence among civilizations."
World victim to 9/11
Jordan's independent Al Ghad published a cartoon indicating that President Bush and Osama Bin Laden have been exploiting the world since the September 11 attacks.
The cartoon shows the back of a big cow with "September 11" written above its tail. Bush, dressed in a cowboy outfit and hat with a pistol in a holster, is sitting on one side of the cow milking it. On the other side sits Bin Laden, with his turban, long beard, and a rifle hung on his shoulder, milking the same cow.
Review of Arab Editorials
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